Foundations for Blockchain Data Analytics: October 6-7, 2019

Location

SAMSI is in close proximity to major roads in Research Triangle Park. SAMSI is most readily accessible from Durham by the Durham Freeway (NC 147) — Exit 7 and/or NC-54 by way of I-40 East/West and is located in the Research Commons complex (building 4501).

Heading west on T. W. Alexander from the Durham Freeway (Route 147), it is the third lefthand entrance into the complex. Park in the first lot you see, in front of building 4501—there is a red sign saying MEMA on the top of the building. SAMSI is on the third floor.

Description

This decade has been marked with the rise of Blockchain based technologies. At its core, Blockchain is a distributed public ledger that stores transactions between two parties without requiring a trusted central authority. On a Blockchain, two unacquainted parties can create an unmodifiable transaction that is permanently recorded on the ledger to be seen by the public. Many applications, ranging from cryptocurrencies to food supply chain management, which demand provenance and decentralization, are already having a positive impact on society and allowing poorer countries to partake in the global economy. As these applications proliferate, so does the complexity and volume of data stored by Blockchains. Analyzing this data has emerged as an important research topic, already leading to methodological advancements in statistics, computer and information sciences.

The modeling of Blockchain data is a new area with little to no precompetitive research and working groups. There are many areas of mathematics and statistics which have great potential in advancing Blockchain applications, ranging from graph theory, topological data analysis, random matrix theory and probabilistic graphical modeling. Equally, there are several open problems which must be addressed before Blockchain becomes more mainstream and gains favorability with governmental regulations. Modeling the effect of transaction costs on the long-term stability of Bitcoin adoption, identifying more energy efficient and scalable mining mechanisms which avoid excessive computation, and determining how to identify criminal activity are just a few of these problems. Their solution requires an interdisciplinary approach and the value of this workshop is in bringing relevant experts together to solve many of these challenge with novel mathematical and statistical modeling approaches.

The SAMSI Blockchain Analytics workshop shall bring together researchers from statistics, data and computer science with experts in economics, social science, finance and operational research, with an ultimate goal of advancing mathematical and algorithmic methodology for blockchain analytics. This three-day workshop shall begin with a half-day tutorial providing an introduction to the main concepts behind blockchain analytics including distributed ledger technology, graph analysis, fintech, supply chain analysis and environmental management. The end of the first day and second day shall feature talks that highlight recent research in this area including monetary circuit theory, fraud detection, transaction cost analysis and market-microstructure. The workshop also aims to bring a diverse body of attendees and to attract students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers from traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM to the field of blockchain data analytics.

** NOTE: Planning for this event is ongoing. This page will be revised as more updates are provided. **

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